The number of sheep slaughtered in Ireland was down by 15.7% in May 2024 when compared with the same month in 2023, Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures show.

This brings the total kill for May to 211,000 head, a decrease of over 39,000.

Further analysis of the data shows that between January and May 2024, the number of sheep slaughtered declined by almost 100,000 head (7.9%) to approximately 1.2 million.

Cattle kill

An analysis of the data for May 2024 compared with May 2023 shows that cattle slaughterings fell by 1.9%. This represents a drop of almost 3,000 head to nearly 151,000.

However, between January and May 2024, CSO data shows that grew by 3.4% to over 789,000 head when compared with the first five months of 2023.

Pigs

Meanwhile, pig slaughterings declined by 1% in May 2024 when compared with May 2023.

The number of pigs slaughtered in the year to May 2024 rose by 0.4% when compared with the same five months in 2023.